500-Rep Kettle Bell Workout

I don’t watch a lot of movies, but Mean Girls is one that I could sit through four times in a row without getting the least bit bored. I LOVE IT. So, naturally, slap a Mean Girls quote on a tank top and I will have no choice but to buy it.

In light of my Gretchen Wieners-inspired workout top today, put down the Kalteen Bars, cancel your Taco Bell plans (“I can’t go to taco bell, I am on an all-carb diet. God, Karen, you are so stupid!”), wear some pink (it is Wednesday, after all)…and do this 500-rep kettle bell workout.

500-Rep Kettle Bell Workout Breakdown

Equipment I Used:

25-lb kettlebell

20-lb kettlebell

15-lb kettlebell

Two 10-lb kettlebells

Exercise mat

This workout will take about 30 minutes to complete depending on your fitness level. It’s a full-body workout, but I especially felt it in my inner-thigh area the next day. You’ll complete the 500 reps as quickly as possible without sacrificing proper form. I’ve noted the weights I used for each exercise, but you should adjust these to fit your own abilities.

Here’s the breakdown:

50 Kettle Bell Swings: Start with kettle bell down between your legs and,using your arms as a pendulum, swing the bell to just above eye level by powering through with your hips and legs while keeping your core tight as you stand up straight. Swing back down and repeat. I used a 25-lb bell.

25 Windmills (right): Start in a standing position, legs wide, kettle bell pressed above head in left hand. Your left foot should be pointing forward, your right foot pointing out at an angle. Slowly bend down, keeping legs and arm holding kettle bell straight. Touch the ground by your right foot with your right hand, keeping the kettle bell perpendicular to the ground the whole time. Slowly raise up to starting position. I used a 15-lb kettle bell for these.

25 Windmills (left)

50 Kettle Bell Swing Punches: This is just like a regular swing except for at the top, bend your elbows wide, bringing the kettle bell in towards your face, and punch it back out. I used 25 lbs.

100 Russian Twists: Sit with legs elevated, leaning slightly backwards, and twist from right to left, bringing kettle bell from one side of your body to the other. I used a 15-lb bell.

50 Goblet Squats: Squat down, legs slightly more than shoulder-width apart, holding a kettle bell. I used 25 lbs. You’ll hold the bell at chest height and resist the urge to hunch over under its weight—engage your back muscles!

50 Alternating Cleans: Start with a kettle bell in each hand. With feet a little wider than shoulder width apart, bend knees and bring one kettle bell from a straight-arm hanging position to closely held by the center of your chest with arm bent. From there, reverse the movement to bring arm back to starting position while simultaneously cleaning upward with the opposite arm. Try to keep the kettle bell towards the center of your body throughout this move. When done correctly, this isn’t just an upper-body workout, but great for your core. It should be a fluid movement, and you’ll need to engage your legs, bending them as you clean. If you don’t need the help of your legs, then you’re not using heavy enough kettle bells. I use 15-lb bells.

25 One-Arm Swings (right): Hold kettle bell in right hand with legs a little more than shoulder-width apart. Start with kettle bell down between your legs and, using your arms as a pendulum, swing the bell to eye level by powering through with your hips and legs while keeping your core tight as you stand up straight. Swing back down and repeat. At the bottom of your swing, your thumb should be pointing back through your legs. I use a 20-lb bell.

25 One-Arm Swings (left)

25 Around-the-Worlds (to the right): Start standing with legs shoulder-width apart, holding a kettle bell in one hand (I used 25 lbs). Keeping your body centered and still, circle the kettle bell around your hips in an orbital fashion, passing it from one hand to the next. Engage your core so that your arms are the only thing moving; everything else should stay centered.

25 Around-the-Worlds (to the left)

50 Alternating Lunge and Press: Hold a kettle bell in each hand (I use 10-lb bells) and start in the clean position (arms bent close to chest with kettle bells at shoulder height—see “alternating cleans” picture for an example). Step forward with your right foot into a lunge position and simultaneously press the kettle bells straight up overhead. Return to starting position, keeping back foot firmly planted and slowly lowering weights. Repeat, stepping forward with the left foot now.

You’re probably a lot stronger than me! Although I do incorporate upper body into my workouts, I don’t increase the weights I use or difficulty of the moves as often as I should–that probably plays into it.

I doubt that I am any stronger! For some reason I just get JACKED every time I do any arm exercises. So I purposely let my arms get flabby this holiday to get rid of all the muscle, and now I am just focusing a ton on cardio to get them lean that way. I’m seeing much better results running, spinning, and doing the elliptical!
Anyway, love your blog, you look great! Keep it up xoxo.

whatttt sizeee is your tankkkkkkk!!!!!!!!! I’m trying to order one but you know, size charts on websites, for me at least, are essentially worthless. I’d normally wear a small but I like how yours looks on you – long and roomey enough but still cute! thanks!! LOVE your blog, I’m really into fitness but i found your blog by googling “girl wearing skreened tank,” ha! what are the odds. thanks!!

Just finished this great workout. My legs and arms were shaking hardcore by the end of the workout! As a former marathoner suffering from chronic It band syndrome, I’m always thrilled to find a new workout that can serve as an alternative to running. Thanks for sharing! I’ll definitely be visiting your blog again in the future.

i’ve been really getting into the kettlebell…the workout looks great… wish you actually had little videos for each movement of pcitures of each phase of a movement… sorry to complain… i’m a visual person… so reading the instructions is a bit of a challenge to get it right.

Excellent post! My girlfriend tried these exercises and had difficulty at first. The goblet squats and russian twists were the most challenging. But she kept working on it day by day, swings then windmilss then swing punches and so on. Now she can do all 500 counts. Very motivating, thanks so much for sharing!

OMG, that was a great workout. I wanted to make sure I had good form so I went down in weight on some of the exercises. Thank you for posting this. I really did like the workout and plan on doing it again.